Reaching for the Stars chapter one
by The Shuttle Twins
Summary: Discovery, Endeavor, and Challenger have taken refuge at the Kennedy Space Center, helping out with the human space Program. After an argument with his brother both Endeavor and Challenger disappear the day that Discovery is scheduled to launch. Will she be able to rescue them from the Decepticons before it's too late? Rated T to be safe.


_Chapter One_

_The government doesn't always tell its secrets. Most people just think the Space Shuttle fleet is exactly that. A fleet of machines created to shuttle people and equipment and the experiments they were preforming to and from the International Space Station low Earth orbit. There are a few humans who know the real truth behind the Space Shuttles. They were anything but "Just machines". No, they were living machines. Refugees actually from a war-torn world several light-years away from our own home orbiting the distant star Alpha Centuri. Discovery, Endeavor and Challenger, three spark-twins, had crash landed on the Merritt Island wildlife refuge that the Kennedy Space Center in Florida sits on. They had escaped the war back home. Or so they thought. The three siblings had been ambushed by the opposing faction, the Decepticons. They had fought but lost. The starboard engine on their ship the Spirit caught fire after taking a few hits from the armada they were facing. The three siblings crash landed on the wildlife refuge and three days later the officials had found them, following a trail of destruction and witness' accounts on that faithful night. Those who had found them made a treaty of sorts with the refugees. The three would help with the blossoming space program and in return they would get shelter and safety from whatever it was they were running from. After a day to think it over they agreed and they've been there ever since. Later there were two others that joined them only to have one perish at the hands of the humans. Columbia and Enterprise. _

Year: 2013. Location: The Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Florida.

A certain black and white femme Autobot, formerly a Decepticon, sat outside the main hangar at the Kennedy Space Center. She was brooding. Again. Discovery ignored the rain which pelted down relentlessly and the wind that howled. They were in the grips of yet another hurricane but luckily this one was only a category one. Most of the humans had left on the evacuation routes three days prior to landfall which rumors were was supposed to be tonight. Discovery didn't care that her brother, Endeavor, would have a fit about her being outside in the rain. "You're going to rust faster than the rest of us." He would say. The femme didn't care. Thanks to Soundwave's tampering he had managed to rewrite her code in a way that prevented her from aging and offlining. In a sense it was immortality and Discovery loathed it.

When she had been sparked her brothers had been separated from her for whatever reason. Endeavor went off to Tyger Pax, Challenger to Iacon and Discovery Kaon. Soundwave had taken her in as a sparkling only to use her as a living experiment for his research on whatever he was doing at the time. When the War broke out Discovery chose the Decepticon faction. She had only been a youngling at the time so she figured that if Soundwave was one, so should she be. She got older and fought in the gladiator pits, eventually earning the name Discovery. Discovery's optics were opened to the horror of the Decepticon faction and after that last battle as a 'con she ran from her birth faction and joined up with the Autobots. A decision she has not regretted.

"Brooding again?" A voice caused Discovery to jump having formerly been lost in her own thoughts. She glanced up and over her right shoulder to see Challenger standing there. "You better come in before Endeavor throws a fit. You know how the docbot can get." They both had a good chuckle. Discovery stood, her joints creaking. "Primus I'm getting old." She muttered as she followed her brother indoors. Water cascaded off of the black and white femme's armor like miniature waterfalls, ending up as large puddles on the cement ground of the hangar they called home. "You're not the only one sis. You forget you have two other brothers who've aged with you." Challenger mentioned, rolling his optics. Of course he knew his sister was immortal and how she hated it. It was a touchy subject so he decided best not to bring up ageing again. "I wish there wasn't so much death in war." Discovery murmured as she travelled beside her brother before sitting down on one of the berths they had set up in the main area. There were smaller rooms for quarters down the hall on the opposite end from the huge doors which had been closed behind them by one of the human caretakers who had decided to ride out the storm here.

Challenger glanced at Discovery becoming a bit worried about Discovery's mentality possibly changing. He knew how much loss she had to endure with the offlining of Treads her sparkmate and their young daughter High Flyer before they could get onboard _the Spirit. _They had all lost a great friend and comrade to the human's imperfect ways when Columbia broke up over Texas. He had been ten minutes from home. Challenger himself had nearly lost his life in 1986 when a loose O-ring caused the Solid Rocket Boosters to explode. Had it not been for the fact he was close to home when it happened Endeavor would've never been able to repair him and another life would've been lost to the AllSpark. All those in the space shuttle program, including the shuttles themselves knew the risk of a launch and landing. So many things could go wrong and yet they don't for the most part but no one wanted to knock on wood.

Endeavor glanced up from the smallish laboratory that had been set up for him. He was a trained medic, having lived in Tyger Pax. His sire was the one who taught him everything he knew now. When rumors of the Autobot/Decepticon war having broken out like many others Endeavor had just blown it off as just that. Rumors. No one expected it to effect Tyger Pax as much as it had when the 'cons had raided the city. Endeavor's sparkmate Klick had been taken hostage and when they were finished with her she was dumped in the slag pits of Kaon. Having felt his mate go offline, the normally not aggressive left his daughter Starwing with a dear friend of his to take revenge into his own servos. He returned only to find out that his practice had caved in, leaving Tracks and Starwing buried in the rubble. He still had nightmares.

"You've been outside again haven't you?" Here it comes. Discovery avoided his accusatory glare. "Maybe." Endeavor scoffed and rolled his optics. "Disco, I wasn't sparked yesterday!" He exclaimed crossing his arms. "Do I need to get the wrenches out to get an answer out of you?" Discovery's optics widened at the threat and she aptly shook her helm. "Pit no! To answer your question: Yes. I was outside in the rain. Why would you care?" She returned his black look. "Discovery as your medic I do have reasons to be concerned for your health when you do stuff like that. Not only does it make you more apt for catching a virus it also rusts your armor." Discovery cycled air through her vents which rushed out in a sigh. She knew she had this coming. "En, don't worry about it. I am immortal." She said softly. It was nice to be worried over since she was used to having to figure things out on her own.

"I'm sorry Discovery, it's in my programing." Endeavor replied, returning to his activities. It piqued Discovery's curiosity. "Now that I think of it I meant to ask, what have you been working on so delicately?" Endeavor paused once more to look up. "I'm trying to design coding for the inoperable space bridge we have on _the Spirit._" He explained. They had decided to keep the ship intact rather than to let nature overrun it. It had still been repairable so Challenger had taken up the challenge of repairs. He was a weapons specialist after all and mechanic so he worked with that kind of stuff all the time although it was mainly weapons. The ship was mostly operational except the engine and space bridge among the larger stuff but the trigger-happy weapons specialist wasn't all that concerned. "Do you think we'll ever be able to go home?" Discovery wondered aloud. Both mechs glanced up at her although it was Endeavor who answered. "Someday, Discovery, we will."


End file.
